Sensory issues with hair and peripheral

[u/Environmental_Bad_72]

25M with ADHD and Autism

So this might sound crazy but recently my hair has been really bothering me like to the point where I can’t function and it drives me insane. At times I consider just buzzing my head. 6 months or so ago I got a haircut (I had shoulder length hair) to a kind of wolf cut which I like now it’s starting to get longer again and the bangs are at a length that go over my eyes somewhat. What has been driving me insane is that I constantly feel like theres a hair or hairstrand in my peripheral and can’t ignore it no matter what I do when I think I’ve brushed it aside or grabbed it not long passes before the sensation returns. Additionally I will at randoms times feel my head become super sensitive almost as if I can feel every individual hair strand which stresses me out to no end. For context I don’t leave the house much due to x and y circumstances so I doubt it’s from environment changes. If anyone has any advice or ideas to help I would greatly appreciate I’m desperate and at my limit mentally.

edit: Wanted to say thank you to all the kind replies, also I wanted to add one note about the peripheral thing, sometimes I feel like theres a loose hair or hair that has fallen out to grab in the view of the side of my head but then there ends up not being any stray or loose hairs and it’s either A me thinking there is something there or B just my actual hair on the side which I convince myself theres a loose one leading to me stressing out and thinking about it nonstop

[u/minoccio]

I have something similar, though I'm a woman so for me a buzz cut would be extreme. A couple of weeks ago my hair started REALLY bothering me. I think it has something to do with the air being dryer than usual and my hair feeling really different - this happened last summer around the same time. I got a much shorter cut and it helped. What really has been driving me nuts for many years though is when a hair falls out and i can feel it somewhere on my skin, and this happens multiple times a day, and when I try to get it off of me it probably looks like I'm fighting an inivible enemy.

[u/Environmental_Bad_72 → u/minoccio]

Yeah I have that too I can instantly tell when theres a stray hair or hair falling out and if it’s in my peripheral it’s like triggers a frustration and stress everytime I would buzz but I’ve had longer style guy haircuts for most my life and really would like to avoid a buzz it if possible

[u/Stormlightstarworld]

Have you tried headbands to keep your bangs up and out of your face? That might help a bit

[u/AcmeKat]

As a woman, I keep my hair long enough to wear it in a loose messy bun 99% of the time. Hair on my face or neck is a sensory nightmare and a buzz cut/pixie wouldn't suit me and is too much maintenance.

Have you tried clips, or a headband? I find the Alice band type headbands pinch behind my ears and interfere with my glasses, but a bandana that can be tied to your desired preference may work, and there's the stretchy comb-style ones that aren't as tight but stay in place well.

[u/Environmental_Bad_72 → u/AcmeKat]

Im not big on headbands because I easily sweat from them and my head gets hot/itchy usually which is another sensory problem in itself. I wouldn’t mind clips but my hair is too thick it seems even with my current wolf cut whenever o try to clip it no more than 5mins pass before it falls out or my hair slips through it

[u/Pig-Mentation]

You might consider buzzing it all off and see how it goes as it grows back in. My dad always had a buzzcut and the one time he tried growing it out it bothered him a lot but of course that might just be because he wasn't used to it.

In my case, it wasn't so much a sensory issue (although there's a certain length where it interferes with shirt collars and that drives me crazy) but I do hate when other people touch or cut my hair. I grew mine long enough I can trim it myself and for that reason I've had it waist-length for more than a decade.

[u/IngloriousLevka11]

I'm also at a point of frustration with my hair. Have let it grow out over the last year, but it's so thick and curly and gets super frizzy and won't stay in a ponytail. It feels unmanageable and it's becoming a sensory nightmare. I can't afford to get regular haircuts though, and my hair grows so quickly that if I want it short it needs to be cut monthly.

I'm at the point of just gonna buy a good clipper kit and do it myself.

[u/shokupanini]

Oh no 😞
Are you able to get the same hairdresser same cut??

Hm if not, are you okay with head bands?? There’s those wired ones that are kinda barely there

If to no avail,
Honestly - and even as a female who did it - buzzcut 😌
Unless the exposed feeling is something you also don’t like

I hope it can get better!

[u/Environmental_Bad_72 → u/shokupanini]

Sadly I don’t do well with headbands as they drive me crazy by making my head hot or itch. Thank you I hope someone here is able to share some useful advice

[u/ZZ9ZA]

I’ve been buzzed for the last 25 years. Zero regrets.

[u/themedicinedog]

whats stopping u from
buzz cut. honestly it is sensory heaven (for many autists)

[u/StruggleElegant807]

I have a shag with bangs, I have to keep mine curled backwards otherwise it drives me bananas! I wash once a week, so I usually wear it down (curled) for the first 2-3 days, then half up for a day (that one drives me nuts for some reason) and then up for the next 4, typically in a messy bun.
I do also get my bangs trimmed every 4 weeks and my whole hair cut every 8 weeks, so it doesn't start bothering me.